when life feels like a sprint

"What an insane couple of weeks - at least we can slow down after the mid-July wilderness trip."

Sound familiar? Okay, maybe not the wilderness trip part. That's Nick's prerogative. But if you're anything like us, you've often thought: Whew, I can't wait until [insert day or month] when things will finally slow down.

It took us quite awhile to realize how often we said this exact phrase to each other. Probably the entire twelve years we've had kids. Suddenly, it dawned on us that things were not going to slow down. Not for a long time.

I always think summertime will be chill. It isn't. We wind up making plans and starting new hobbies. Gardening. Floating the river. Camping. Then comes fall and holiday commitments, church and community events. The list goes on. We have yet to experience a chill, relaxed season.

Although, if I’m being honest, I’m not super happy during the chill, relaxed moments, either. Thirty minutes of unstructured time and my brain is sweating, seeking anything to occupy the empty space. Give me something to DO!

So maybe the solution lies somewhere between living at a sprinter’s pace and pining for a hermit’s existence. It’s time to be honest with myself about sort of actually liking the busy-ness, because it feels productive and keeps me occupied. But also, just maybe, everything doesn’t need to be accomplished RIGHT NOW TODAY.

Should I live long enough, there will be a phase after kids, work, and chicken tending. From that vantage point, I may look back on these days with envy and actually miss the busy pace that accompanies the constant interruptions of being needed by people.

Perhaps the greatest and most profound challenge is rising to meet whatever road lies immediately before us: busy schedules or downtime, constant caretaking or autonomy. I suppose that a certain richness and splendor exist across the full spectrum of life circumstances. And since we may not be able to change them, we may as well engage in the creative exercise of digging up the simple joys hidden in between the lines.